Employee of the University of Alberta operating a recycling machine
Chosen as one of Canada's Greenest Employers for 2011:
By Kristina Leung and Richard Yerema, Mediacorp Canada Inc. staff editor
(
Apr 20, 2011)
Some of the reasons why University of Alberta was selected as one of Canada's Greenest Employers (2011):
a pioneering campus that established a recycling program back in 1975, which today includes an in-house recycling transfer centre to compact its recyclables, allowing for expanded programs but with less volume to transport to the recycling centre -- and even has a "green demolition" program to encourage salvage and re-use of building materials as part of on-campus renovations and demolitions
more recently established an "Office of Sustainability" to oversee and create awareness about the university's many environmental initiatives
adopted sustainable cleaning practices, including the use of environmentally-friendly cleaning chemicals that meet "Green Seal" and "Environmental Choice" standards
composts organic kitchen waste in university dining facilities, as well as leaves and garden waste for later use in landscaping projects across the campus
launched a naturalization project on-campus that is focused on reclaiming unused and non-native vegetation areas and re-introducing native plant species that require less maintenance and water as well as help to contribute to increased biodiversity on the campus one plant at a time
continues through a multi-year $25 million energy management program that includes upgraded energy-efficient lighting -- with completed projects saving over $1.7 million in utility costs and reducing associated carbon dioxide emissions by 20,000 tonnes per year
has recently implemented a policy to ensure that all major renovations and all new provincially-funded campus buildings must be built to at least a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification standard -- and recently achieved the prestigious LEED Gold-certification for its Triffo Hall building renovation
is currently constructing a new "Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies" that is being designed to meet LEED Silver certification
introduced a new car-sharing program (managed by Connect by Hertz) on its north campus to provide short-trip transportation options and encourage employees to leave their cars at home -- all cars are fuel efficient or hybrid models
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